Weekly Round-Up: Monster Mash

Let’s just get this out of the way: highlight of the week is easily Dougie Hamilton and the Boston Bruins dressed as the cast of Frozen. I find it hard to imagine that most people reading this blog haven’t seen this already but let’s just revisit it:

Goal of the Week

Okay, maybe this Steven Stamkos powerplay goal isn’t particularly stunning. We see it from Stamkos all the time, after all.

But that’s my point. We see this goal from Stamkos all the time, brutal in their accuracy. I remember watching the reel of his 60 goals from the 2011-2012 season and I feel like 40 of them looked almost exactly like this. Steven Stamkos has a career shooting percentage of 17.4 (second amongst active players to Alex Tanguay, interestingly enough). In 2011-12, he had a 19.8 shooting percentage over a full 82 games. Steven Stamkos is unreal.

Women’s Hockey Highlight

On November 1, Noora Raty won her first game in Mestis with 43 saves. When Raty announced that she would have to retire from women’s hockey and try to make it men’s hockey just to make a living, it was heartbreaking, but I’m so glad she’s found a place to play.

On a related note, The Pink Puck published a great story on Hilary Knight and women’s hockey that’s a must read.

And to top it off, tomorrow begins the Four Nations Cup featuring the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland, not to mention qualifications for Women’s Worlds beginning on Saturday! Best of luck to all (except Canada).

What Don Cherry Wore

Why does every photo I find of Don Cherry include him making this face? Anyway, this is similar to the Canadian flag suit of a couple weeks ago. In case we forget his name, he’s plastered it all over his jacket. “See?” he probably said to some small, confused child. “Cherry!”

Cottonmouths Corner

Technically this should go under the Halloween costume section, but it involves Shannon Szabados, so here is Genevieve Lacasse dressed as Shannon Szabados for Halloween:

Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) is a great follow regardless but this one was amazing. I want this picture of Wayner (I’m using the informal just to annoy scandalize Canadian friends of mine) on my wall. I want it as a full-size mural. Look at that coat. He looks like a mob boss who should have a showgirl on his arm and a bag of cocaine strapped to his chest. It’s amazing.

Ah, Halloween. We learn so much about the players this way. On a side note, I can’t tell if Carl Hagelin and Mats Zuccarello’s costumes are supposed to go together or if it’s just a happy coincidence that they’re both nautical themed.

Tank Watch

5. Edmonton Oilers (4-6-1)

Hey, they’re moving up this list! They’re missing Taylor Hall now, thanks to a leg injury, so that’s likely going to hurt them, but I didn’t think their losing streak at the beginning of the season was necessarily representative of the team. We’ll see how Hall’s absence affects them, though.

4. Arizona Coyotes (4-6-1)

The Coyotes have gone on something of a skid, culminating in getting shut out by the (still) last-place Carolina Hurricanes. They did win last night in the Capital’s building, so that’s not nothing,

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (4-7-0)

Oh, the poor Blue Jackets. They have been pretty badly hampered by injuries recently, and if they just had a couple of loser points they’d be moved up more than a few spaces. Aside from the recent news that last year’s big signing Nathan Horton has a degenerative back condition that will likely end his career, they are missing Dubinsky, Letestu, Calvert, Wisniewski, and of course, the backbone, Bobrovsky. It’s disappointing after last year’s performance; if the injury situation gets better, though, I can see the Blue Jackets pushing toward a wild card spot if any of the other Metropolitan teams falter.

2. Buffalo Sabres (3-9-1)

Surprise, surprise, the Sabres are still at the bottom with a -27 goal differential and apparently no will to live. I feel like when the Sabres win, it’s despite themselves.

1. Carolina Hurricanes (2-6-2)

The Hurricanes capped off their eight game losing streak with a two game winning streak, so things are looking up. We hope. I think in the long run, they’re unlikely to remain Buffalo for long, but that’s the best I got for them. It’s hard to come back from an eight game losing streak; just ask the 2011-12 Blue Jackets.